


Finders, seekers

by Hagzissa



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Detention, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Godric's Hollow, Jealousy, M/M, Nightmares, Quidditch, Self-Esteem Issues, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Tarot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-22 00:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9573125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hagzissa/pseuds/Hagzissa
Summary: Scorpius tries out for the Slytherin team and succeeds. With Quidditch practice three time a week, Albus gets to spend less and less time with his best friend. Albus realises that apart from Scorpius he doesn't have any friends. Little does he know that Scorpius feels the same.





	1. Chapter 1

Madam Pince was watching him critically as Albus re-shelfed the Herbology section of the library. The mean old librarian hadn’t allowed him to use magic and his arms had become weary from carrying folios on harvesting techniques and Tibetan underwater plants. Detention until graduation – that was what Prof. McGonagall had promised after they had nearly brought Lord Voldemort back (again). Twice a week Albus and Scorpius had to help the staff in some way. They were not allowed to spend detention together, lest they came up with dangerous plans again. When they came back to the dormitory late at night, they each traded stories.

‘I don’t get why she wouldn’t let me use magic,’ Albus complained that night. ‘I know I’m bad at charms, but come on, levitation is first-year-stuff. I’m not _that_ bad!’

‘I would have loved to switch places,’ Scorpius replied. ‘Prof. Longbottom had me manuring the plants in greenhouse four with dragon dung. I don’t think I’ll ever get the smell out of my nose.’

He sniffed his robes.

‘Or my clothes, for that matter.’

‘At least you didn’t have that mean old hag lurking behind you all the time. I wonder if they’re really going through with it. All the way till graduation.’

 

The answer to Albus’ question came at the beginning of their fifth year. On the second day of term they were summoned to the headmistress’ office.

‘I wonder what we did this time,’ Albus said darkly, as they ascended the moving stairs.

Scorpius shrugged. He had accepted detention as a part of their school experience, and sometimes even defended the headmistress’ decision. It made Albus furious but then again Scorpius was his best friend.

‘Please, sit down,’ Prof. McGonagall said, once they had entered the room.

Albus and Scorpius did. The former Transfigurations teacher didn’t look angry, but it was hard to tell with her stern face and thin lips. She offered them each a biscuit.

‘I have decided to reduce your detention to once a week,’ Prof. McGonagall informed them.

Albus exchanged a disbelieving look with Scorpius. A grin spread on his face.

‘Thanks, Prof. McGonagall!’ he said hastily.

‘I do expect you to use this time wisely, Mr Potter,’ she said seriously. ‘I don’t think I need to remind you that your OWL examinations are coming up. This year may well decide over your future.’

‘Yes, Prof. McGonagall.’

‘Here are your duties for this month.’

Prof. McGonagall handed them both a small piece of parchment.

 

Once they were out of her office, Albus couldn’t hide his happiness any longer.

‘Yes!’ he shouted, performing a little dance. ‘Less detention! Yeah!’

Scorpius looked at him, slightly amused. Then something changed in his eyes. He grabbed Albus arm to get his attention.

‘Do you know what this means, Albus?!’ Scorpius asked.

‘No, what?’

‘I can – I can finally try out for the Quidditch team!’

‘Yeah – you’re right,’ Albus said. ‘When you’ve made the team, you’re going to be so popular. Not sure if I can be seen with someone like that. Kind of ruins the whole loser façade I’m trying to uphold.’

‘You mean _if_ I make the team,’ Scorpius corrected him. ‘And I’m sure I could, like, wear a stupid hat or something, so we can still be losers together.’

 

* * *

 

When they checked their detention plans, they were surprised; they were to spend all four evenings together. ‘I guess it’s easier this way,’ Scorpius mused, ‘Prof. McGonagall probably has more important things to do than thinking of punishments for the two of us.’

On their first night they had to clean the school telescopes. Albus didn’t like that at all. He was afraid of heights and being on the Astronomy tower always made him nauseous. They could see the Quidditch pitch from the tower before it started to dawn. A yearning look was in Scorpius eyes.

Albus still wasn’t sure what to think of his best friend’s new hobby. He couldn’t understand Scorpius sudden fascination with the sport. Quidditch had never been their thing. They hadn’t even been to most of the school matches. Instead they had relished in having the common room for themselves. They would lounge lazily on the leather sofas, occupying one each, munching on some muffins they had nicked from the kitchens. Albus began to realise that maybe Quidditch was just not _his_ thing. His whole family was obsessed with Quidditch: it had been the one thing his father had been really really good at at school; his mother had been captain of the _Hollyhead Harpies_ and James had climbed a broom as soon as he could walk. He had made it to team captain in four years and was sure to be replaced by their cousin Rose when he had done his NEWTs. He grudgingly admitted to himself that maybe he disliked it because it was a Potter thing. Maybe he had been wrong and Scorpius had always secretly liked Quidditch. Maybe he had kept him from something he would greatly enjoy because he was such an egocentric prick. The idea made him feel guilty. He decided to support Scorpius in his endeavours to redeem himself. Even if that meant going out to watch him practice flying every night.

 

The Quidditch try-outs were scheduled for the beginning of October. With each passing day Scorpius became more and more nervous. Albus on the other hand was quite confident that Scorpius actually had a chance. He had been sceptical at first. Scorpius wasn’t the most graceful of wizards. He was lanky and tended to lose his balance when he was excited about something. When Scorpius mounted his new-bought broom, a steady grip on the handle, he was calm and collected. He practiced landing, increasing speed and swooping down. Albus’ heart nearly stopped when he had done a loop-the-loop for the first time. Shortly afterwards Scorpius landed next to him, a satisfied grin on his face.

‘Did you see a boggart?’ Scorpius asked. ‘You look frightened.’

‘Yeah, well, that stunt you pulled looked kind of dangerous,’ Albus said.

‘“Dangerous” is my middle name,’ Scorpius joked.

He combed his fingers through his blond hair that had been ruffled by the wind. It looked ridiculous. But also kind of good. Yes, Albus could picture him on the Quidditch team, surrounded by a group of giggling girls, perhaps.

‘Oh shut up, your middle name is Hyperion,’ he said teasingly. ‘Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy. What a name.’

‘Says you, Albus Severus Potter,’ Scorpius dead-panned. ‘It’s like someone’s just read a history book before naming you.’

‘Dad,’ Albus said with an exasperated sigh.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is going to be a bit more slow-burn than I had anticipated. Albus is oblivious af, sorry.

‘I am Malfoy the Unanxious,’ Albus could hear Scorpius muttering under his breath.

They were on their way to the Quidditch pitch. It was a misty day. The sun had just risen above the mountains surrounding the Hogwarts’ grounds and the grass was wet beneath their shoes. A group of twenty-odd students stood on the Quidditch pitch, each one of them carrying a broomstick. Some of them were talking to each other, laughing nervously in anticipation. Only three of them were wearing the emerald Slytherin robes, indicating that they were already on the team.

‘There are four positions to be filled,’ Albus observed. ‘You can do this!’

Scorpius nodded but didn’t seem all too convinced.

‘Oh no,’ he groaned.

He pointed towards the stands were a small group sat, all clad in scarlet.

‘Rose is here,’ Scorpius said shrilly. ‘How am I supposed to do this with her watching? I’m going to embarrass myself. What if I fall off my broom? What if I fall off my broom _on her_? What if-’

Of course Rose had to be here, Albus thought. This was just like second year when she had turned up at his first Gobstone club meeting (it remained the only Gobstone club meeting he attended). He felt like jinxing her on the spot but he knew it would get him in trouble. Rose had been made prefect and he really didn’t want to go back to being in detention twice a week.

 No, Roe wouldn’t ruin this for Scorpius. The key was to make him believe in himself.

‘Scorpius!’ Albus interrupted his friend’s panicked rambling, putting a hand on his shoulder.

 Scorpius forced himself to look back at Albus.

‘I’ve seen you fly. You can do this,’ Albus said, imitating his mother’s calming voice.

Without warning, Scorpius flung his arms around his neck, enveloping him in a hug. Surprised, Albus hugged him back. His cheek was pressed against Scorpius neck. So they were definitely doing hugging now, right? Two times were a coincidence, but this, this was a pattern. Albus had to admit that he didn’t oppose this development. He liked hugging Scorpius. It made him feel special – Scorpius didn’t go around hugging people, but he’d decided to hug him, nonetheless. It felt good. Scorpius had just the right height, his warmth nice against the October cold – Scorpius hugged him tighter and tighter and –

‘Scorpius – I – I can’t breathe,’ Albus managed to bring out.

‘Sorry, just, nervous,’ Scorpius apologised without loosening his grip.

‘Let go! Please!’

‘OK.’

‘ _Now!_ ’

Just then the Quidditch team captain, a seventh-year, cleared her voice.

‘Good luck,’ Albus said and pushed Scorpius towards the others.

 

Albus found himself a seat far away from the Gryffindors. He watched the Slytherins mount their brooms. Higher and higher they rose. He could see a few students clutching the handle tightly, leaning close to it as not to fall off. Albus smiled. They had no chance against Scorpius. The try-outs started with a race around the pitch. It was hard to keep the potential players apart through the mist. Then the captain had them all try to score a few goals. Albus thought that maybe this was it. But no, the try-outs carried on – throwing, fighting for a Quaffle, keeping up a formation – Albus was starting to get cold. He wrapped his scarf closer around his neck. It was time to wear his winter cloak.

He looked towards James and Rose. They were talking to each other, pointing at the people flying above them. James was probably already thinking of strategies to beat Slytherin in the first match of the season. How long did try-outs usually take? Albus checked his watch. It was almost lunch-time. Just then he heard a whistle. The fliers now formed a circle. After a minute they were all descending. He got up to his feet and made his way towards them. After landing Scorpius took a few unsure steps, then he ran up to Albus.

‘I did it!’ he declared, beaming.

‘Awesome!’ Albus replied, grinning back at him.

‘Congratulations, Bread Head,’ a familiar voice said.

They both turned around to see Rose in her Quidditch robes. She smirked at them.

‘Let’s see how you do against actual competition,’ she said, ‘Gryffindor vs Slytherin, just one more month to go.’

With that, she left.

‘Wow, I hate her so much,’ Albus said.

* * *

 

On Wednesday was their next detention. They walked up the North Tower to the Divination classroom where they were supposed to sort decks of Tarot cards that had been mixed up.

A silver ladder appeared above their heads, slowly descending towards them.

‘It’s up _there_?’ Albus asked.

He had never been to that classroom. Instead of Divination he had picked Arithmancy. The calculating sometimes gave him a headache, but at least there were no tea leaves telling him how much he would fail in life.

They climbed the ladder after each other. The classroom looked more like a living room than anything else. Numerous little tables were scattered over a small wooden tribune, with cushions and ancient looking little chairs beside them. Now that it was evening, there was no light coming from the small windows in the walls. The room was sparely lit through a number of floating candles.

Prof. Damus, the divination teacher, waited for them. He was a stout little wizard with a large moustache. Albus had seen him at meals.

‘Ah, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter,’ he said in a pleasant tone, putting aside his tea. ‘Over here, please.’

He showed them to a table that was covered in little stacks of illustrated cards.

‘Are you familiar with reading the cards?’ Prof. Damus asked Albus.

‘Uh, no,’ he admitted.

‘Well, I’m sure Mr. Malfoy can give you a hand,’ he said. ‘Please, check whether the decks are complete and sort out cards that belong to a different set.’

They nodded and sat down on the large cushions by the table. Prof. Damus returned to his desk and sipped on his tea.

Albus leaned closer to Scorpius.

‘I don’t know anything about fortune-telling cards,’ he told him quietly.

‘It’s OK, I can tell you what you need to know,’ Scorpius replied in the same voice. ‘Here,’ he pointed at a stack of brightly coloured cards. ‘That’s the Rider Waite Tarot. It has 78 cards. Just count them and see if there are some double.’

‘Alright.’

It was a tedious work. To Albus the cards all looked the same. After losing track of his counting twice, he started to put them into stacks of twenty. Beside him, Scorpius separated a stack into two decks.

‘Do you really think I’m going to be popular now that I’m on the Quidditch team?’ Scorpius asked after a while.

‘I guess that depends on whether or not you’re good,’ Albus replied.

‘Maybe if I’m really really good, Rose’ll give me a chance to go out with her,’ Scorpius said.

Albus didn’t reply. He had never understood Scorpius obsession with Rose. From the day they had met she had been mean to him.

‘I mean we can’t go to Hogsmeade, obviously, but I guess that’s not a pre-requisite for a date, is it?’

‘No, I guess not,’ Albus said.

‘Hey, d’you think Polly Chapman might fancy me now that I’m on the team? Like she did in that other place?’ Scorpius continued. ‘Would you go out with Polly Chapman if she fancied you?’

‘No?’

No, he didn’t want to date Polly Chapman. Everyone was always fawning about her but he had never seen the appeal of her. Yes, she was pretty, but she had never said anything remotely nice to him. He had always thought she was rather arrogant.

He picked up a card he had dropped. The illustration showed a woman and a man, both stark naked, their arms open, receiving the blessing of an angel. _The Lovers_.

* * *

 

The boys from their dorm were still playing wizards’ chess in the common room when they came back from their detention. Both tired from the long day, Scorpius and Albus headed for their dorm.

Albus put on his favourite pyjamas – they were blue – and sat down on his bed. Scorpius had stripped to his boxer shorts and took out a fresh towel from his wardrobe.

‘I’m going to shower,’ he announced.

Albus nodded. He picked up his Ancient Runes text book and opened it at the first page of the chapter on Darlecanian runes he was meant to read until the next day. He made it half-way through the first page then he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.

He was woken up, when something wet dripped on his face and Scorpius’ voice said: ‘Albus!’

He opened his eyes with a start to see his friend sitting on the edge of his bed, towel around his waist, leaning over him. Drops of water were falling from his hair. Scorpius looked always rather good with his wet blond hair pushed back.

‘What is it?’ Albus asked sleepily.

‘I was wondering,’ Scorpius said, ‘whether you like someone.’

‘I like you,’ Albus said, confused. ‘I thought we’d established that, you know, being best friends and everything.’

‘Uh, that’s nice to know, but I meant whether you fancy someone. I’m always talking about Rose and we’re never talking about your love life. And I figured that’s unfair and I thought I’d give you chance to talk about it. I promise I won’t laugh and I won’t make old people jokes.’

‘Thanks,’ Albus said. ‘But no, I don’t fancy anyone.’

They were silent for a minute.

‘Are you sure?’ Scorpius asked with a sly smile, ‘Cause I heard Prof. McGonagall is single and -’

‘Ew, Scorpius!’ Albus said and hit him with a pillow.

‘Sorry,’ Scorpius said, giggling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd be really happy about feedback. What did you like or didn't like? What would you like to read? Please tell me if I wrote something that contradicts what it says in The Cursed Child, I only read and watched it once, so, yeah. TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that it took so long to update; uni stuff is keeping me busy! Albus is - again - very grumpy in this chapter. Hope you like it nonetheless.

It was half past six. Scorpius was putting on his Quidditch uniform. His legs looked ridiculously long in the tan trousers he was wearing. When he put on the emerald jumper with a silver stripe over the chest, a proud smile crept across his face.

‘How do I look?’ he asked Albus, who was waiting for him to get ready.

‘Like a proper Quidditch player,’ he said, smiling back. ‘Are you ready?’ he asked.

Instead of an answer, Scorpius just made an unsure noise.

 

Leah Goldstein, the Slytherin Quidditch team’s captain, was there to meet them at the pitch.

‘Sorry, Malfoy, boyfriends to hold your hand are not allowed during Quidditch practice,’ she said instead of a greeting.

‘He’s not here to hold my hand!’ Scorpius said.

‘Yeah and I’m not his boyfriend!’ Albus added.

‘Seriously,’ Leah said, ‘I don’t care. No offence, Potter, it’s just that half your family is on the Gryffindor team and I can’t have you telling them our moves.’

He didn’t have to ask how she knew his name or who his family was. Perks of being a celebrity off-spring. Still, he was annoyed. The mere thought that he would sell out the Slytherins to his brother was ridiculous. Wild hippogriffs couldn’t drag him there.

He was just about to tell Leah so, when Scorpius said, ‘OK.’

‘Great. Let’s get moving then.’

‘Guess I’ll see you later,’ Albus said but Scorpius had already turned his back.

 

When he returned to the common room, it was full of people. It was a Friday night and everyone was making plans for the weekend. Two boys from Albus’ year were playing Exploding Snap in front of the fireplace. He hesitated. He hadn’t really talked to them in ages. Causing all that havoc last year hadn’t made Albus more popular and he had always had the feeling that David hadn’t forgiven him for accidentally spilling frogspawn over him in Potions class in second year.

‘Hey,’ Albus greeted them, awkwardly.

Neither of them looked up, both too immersed in their game. Two stacks of Snap cards were rapidly displaying new cards. Both boys had their wands ready to tap them should two identical cards surface.

Albus said down next to Chen.

‘Did you finish your Arithmancy essay yet?’ he asked.

‘Wait a sec,’ Chen replied.

His eyes were fixed on the brightly coloured cards. A green dragon. An ogre. A house-elf. A blue dragon. Their style reminded Albus of the Tarot cards he had sorted this week. _The Lovers._ He wondered whether Scorpius had ever asked the cards about Rose. Or Polly Chapman. What had they told them? Did Scorpius really think that his pestering Rose would really lead to their ‘eventual marriage’ as he had said it? Marriage. How could Scorpius think about marrying someone? They were fifteen! Albuss had never had a crush on a girl like that. Hell, most of the time he couldn’t even imagine someone wanting to go out with him. The only person who had shown some interest in him had been Delphi. Sure, he had been flustered. She was older and she was cool – well, she had been before her evil plan had been revealed and all that. And, as expected, flirting with him had all just been part of said evil plan. Maybe he would stay single forever like Uncle Charlie. Although, to be fair, Charlie seemed quite okay with that.

Chen tapped the cards. Goblin and goblin.

Now the stacks changed their cards even faster.

Chen tapped his wand down again. Mermaid and mermaid.

The cards were now almost a blur.

David gave it a try. Hippogriff and Pegasus.

With that the whole stack of cards exploded right there and then. Two first-years shrieked in surprise. Albus, Chen and David were sitting in a puff of purple smoke, as cards were flying through the air. As they trailed down, one of them was hit by a spark from the fireplace. The card started to burn in mid-air before dropping on the carpet.

‘ _Aguamenti_ ,’ Chen said quickly, pointing his wand at the card.

A small water fountain extinguished the fire. He picked up the card. Between the burned edges they could see the picture of a salamander.

‘Ironic,’ Chen said.

‘Really, guys?’

It was Sam Edgecombe, the boy prefect from their year. He had left his spot next to the windows to come over and tell them off.

‘Why is it always someone from our year that causes trouble?’ he asked. Before they could answer, he continued. ‘Last year we had the Minister of Magic come up here because you lunatic had to go and vanish,’ he looked pointedly at Albus, ‘and now you two can’t spend two evenings in a row without blowing stuff up.’

‘Geez, Sam, that’s just the way Exploding Snap goes,’ David defended himself, irritable. ‘No reason to lump us together with Potter and Malfoy.’

 

Albus murmured something about needing to go to the loo and fled the place. He climbed down the stairs to their dorm, slamming the door behind him. He dropped down on his bed. This wasn’t new. People had always teased them. Albus, the Slytherin Squib. Son of famous Potter who couldn’t even do a simple spell even if his life depended on it. Scorpius, You-Know-Who’s son, the insufferable Know-It-All. He should be used to it by now. Still, it hurt. Every time. A tear ran down his cheek. He wiped it away angrily.

He felt the weight of something jumping on the bed next to him, followed by a soft miaow. It was David’s pet kneazle Stripes. Stripes pressed his flat, furry face against Albus’ cheek, purring. He turned to his side to pet the kneazle.

‘Your owner is a jerk,’ Albus told Stripes in a small voice.

 

* * *

 

When Scorpius returned to the dorm, Albus had brushed his teeth and changed into his pyjamas. He had closed the curtains around his bed and was now lying awake in the darkness.

‘Albus, are you sleeping?’ Scorpius enquired.

‘I am,’ Albus answered, from within the curtains.

Scorpius laughed. He opened the curtains a bit and peered through.

‘Can I come in?’ he asked.

‘Yeah.’

While Scorpius took off his shoes and shin guards, Albus searched for his wand. He found it under his pillow.

‘ _Lumos,_ ’ he said, so they could see each other.

Scorpius cheeks were red, a few drops of sweat on his forehead. He sat down next to Albus, cross-legged. Albus propped himself up on his arms and asked, ‘What was it like then, Quidditch?’

‘It was a-ma-zing,’ Scorpius reported. ‘There is so much more to Quidditch than meets the eye! I didn’t know it was going to wear me out so much, though.’

He continued to describe their practice and how Leah was a bit harsh, but knew what she was doing. _Harsh_ was one word for it, Albus thought to himself, _unfair_ was more like it. But apparently Scorpius had taken a great fancy to Leah. She had made them run across the field for a warm up and then had them chase for enchanted Quaffles. It really sounded like Scorpius had had the time of his life… chasing a ball. Everything was great, his team mates, too. Especially the other chasers, Magnus and Felicia. Magnus was in sixth year and Felicia’s father had played for Puddlemere United.

‘And now I’m just so,’ – Scorpius yawned – ‘exhausted.’

He let himself drop into the pillows, lying face to face with Albus.

For a moment they were silent, the silver light of the wand painting shadows on their faces.

‘So, what did _you_ do tonight?’ he asked, unsuccessfully stifling a second yawn.

‘Nothing, I guess,’ Albus said, drearily. ‘Watched Chen and David play Exploding Snap. Got yelled at by Sam. Contemplated my life choices.’

Scorpius didn’t answer.

‘Scorpius? Scorpius!’

His eyes were closed, his breath even. He had fallen asleep. It would be better if Albus woke him before he had reached deep sleep. Instead he just stared at his friend’s peaceful face. Albus was so tired and their beds were quite spacious, so Scorpius wasn’t exactly in the way. Albus fumbled for the blanket and pulled it over their bodies.

‘ _Nox_ ,’ he murmured.

 

It didn’t take long for him to fall into an uneasy sleep.

He was falling.

Falling through a swirl of light and there was this deafening silence. He could not speak but there wasn’t anyone who would have heard him anyway. After what felt like eternity, he was spit out by the light onto a street. A thin layer of snow covered the roofs of small timbered houses.

‘Hello?’ Albus asked stupidly, ‘Is anyone here?’

There was no answer. He gripped his wand tighter and started to walk. A jack-o’-lantern stood in front of every other house’s door, its frightful face shining in the approaching darkness. His feet left prints on the snow. He arrived at a little market square. On his right the entrance to the churchyard was open. He knew that he had to go inside, but he was afraid. He slowly walked among the snow-covered graves.

A wind rustled through the brown leaves of the trees surrounded the yard. He thought he heard a voice. It was more of a hiss.

‘ _Potter…’_

A chill ran down his neck. He turned around to see red eyes and white skin, framed by a charcoal hood – clawlike-fingers holding onto a wand that looked like it was made of bones – a high voice laughing – he was going to die – he would –

 

‘Albus!’

He woke up, startled. A pale face was hovering in the darkness – Voldemort - where was his wand -

‘Albus, it’s OK, it’s me!’ Scorpius said emphatically. ‘ _Lumos!_ ’

The light blinded Albus but when his eyes had got adjusted to it, he had calmed down. He was not in Godric’s Hollow; he was in Hogwarts. He was safe and he was with Scorpius. His shirt was also drenched in sweat.

‘Are you OK?’ Scorpius asked, ‘You were talking in your sleep.’

‘Nightmare,’ Albus said.

He took off his shirt and tossed it to the end of the bed, then he pulled the blanket up to cover him. Scorpius copied him.

‘These Quidditch jumpers are really quite warm,’ he declared, before lying back down.

‘Did I wake you up?’ Albus asked, feeling guilty.

‘You were tossing and turning,’ Scorpius said. ‘What the hell did you dream about?’

Albus bit his lip.

‘I was back in Godric’s Hollow. And I… I saw… _him_. Voldemort, you know.’

Scorpius didn’t say anything. He just moved a little closer, found Albus hand under the blanket and squeezed it tightly. Albus buried his face in Scorpius shoulder.

‘He’s dead,’ Scorpius said quietly, ‘and if he should ever feel like coming back, well, he has to fight Scorpius the Unanxious.’


	4. Chapter 4

He pulled the blanket up again; it was too cold with his chest bare. He knew it was morning already, but it was comfortable in bed. He turned around to get another hour of sleep, when the events of last night came back to him. His silly nightmare, him nuzzling Scorpius’ neck, Scorpius holding his hand like he was some little child… By the light of the day it was all rather embarrassing. He opened his eyes, horrified. He found his bed empty, but Scorpius’ jumper was still lying at the foot of the bed, a testimony that it had all happened.

 

Albus sighed and got dressed. Scorpius was nowhere to be found in the Slytherin quarters. Albus suspected that he had gone up to have breakfast. When he came to the Great Hall, he found that he had been right. He took his usual seat next to Scorpius. He was afraid that Scorpius might speak of the previous night, but Scorpius just passed him the milk to pour over his CheeriOwls.

‘What are your plans for today?’ Scorpius asked, buttering his toast.

The Daily Prophet was lying next to his plate, a quill hovering over the cross-word puzzle.

‘Dunno,’ Albus said, mouth half-full.

He glanced at the puzzle lying between them.

‘Irish druidess – that’s Cliodna,’ he said. ‘They always ask that.’

‘True,’ Scorpius agreed.

The quill dipped itself into the small inkbottle on the table and scribbled down the solution. Glad that they were talking normally, Albus asked: ‘Would you mind practicing some spells for Transfigurations with me later?’

‘Sure!’ Scorpius said. ‘Conjuring is really hard.’

 ‘Oh, shut up,’ Albus said, ‘You did perfectly fine last time; you’re just saying that to make me feel better.’

He smiled at the thought, however.

 

* * *

 

After a day of practicing spell work, Albus had completely forgotten about his nightmare.

‘Are you going to practice _every_ day?’ Albus asked in disbelief, as Scorpius had reappeared in the common room with his Quidditch uniform on.

‘This is just for us to get started. Half the team’s new and Leah wants us to get to know each other,’ Scorpius said with a shrug.

‘No boyfriends to hold hands this time either then, I suppose?’ Albus joked.

To his surprise, Scorpius didn’t laugh. Instead, his cheeks went pink and he looked at his broomstick with sudden interest.

‘Scorpius?’ Albus asked, confused.

Scorpius back at him.

‘I didn’t overstep last night, did I? Boundaries, I mean?’ Scorpius asked. ‘Was that OK, me holding your hand?’

‘Uh, yeah, sure,’ Albus replied, taken aback. ‘I mean I was fine, so you didn’t have to – no, it was fine. OK. It’s OK with me.’

‘Righty-o,’ Scorpius said awkwardly. ‘Let’s quid some ditches then.’

 

* * *

 

Scorpius had Quidditch practice on Sunday also. By Monday morning he was groaning about sore muscles.

‘Regret it yet?’ Albus asked him.

‘No, it’s fun,’ Scorpius insisted.

‘Just teasing you.’

Leah had scheduled three training sessions per week, one on Tuesday, the other on Thursday and Saturday. Additionally, they met up each Friday in the common room to discuss tactics. During the first week, Albus waited up for Scorpius to come back to the dorm. He tried to use the time to catch up with his homework but he often found himself stuck with a difficult question and there was no Scorpius to help with his memory. After a particularly frustrating set of Astronomy questions, closed his books with a sigh and simply went to bed.

 

* * *

 

A small owl landed in front of them. It was Gilt, the family owl. As Albus took the letter off her leg, Gilt picked in out a few hoops from his cereal. Once he had the letter, she again spread her wings and took off.

‘Wow, that’s one social bird!’

A handsome boy that Albus had seen in the common room before, sat down across from them. He was tall, with dark hair and his house tie tied loosely around his neck.

‘Hey, man,’ he greeted Scorpius.

‘Morning,’ Scorpius said. ‘Albus, Magnus. Magnus, Albus.’ Scorpius said.

‘Magnus the _chaser!_ ’ Albus said with a sing song voice.

He immediately regretted it. Magnus shot him a questioning look but didn’t comment. Albus opened his letter, his cheeks pink. It was a short note from his mum, asking whether he had arrived safely and how he was. She concluded by asking him to give Scorpius her love. His mum was weird in that way.

 

School went on as usual, except now everything Scorpius seemed to be talking about was Quidditch. The afternoons were reserved for studying and homework because naturally, Scorpius didn’t want to lose points in his OWLs because of his new hobby. Their walks around the castle grounds became less frequent and when he asked Scorpius if he was up for a match of wizards’ chess, he declined much more often, because an essay needed finishing or a chapter had to be read. The evenings without Scorpius were dull. He didn’t feel like talking to David or Chen and Sam’s rants over first-years spilling crisps in the common room made him tired. Fridays were the worst. The Quidditch team huddled together in a corner of the common room. On a small blackboard Leah explained possible moves against Gryffindor. When the meeting was over, the team often sat around and talked for a bit more and Albus was never sure whether or not he was welcome to join them. From his spot next to the fire, he watched as Scorpius did a brilliant impression of Prof. McGonagall. Magnus laughed. He tried to focus on the text on the Industrial Revolution he was supposed to read for Muggle Studies, but his eyes always found their way back to where Scorpius sat.

 

* * *

 

On Saturday he decided to take a trip to the owlery. He had remembered his mother’s letter. The owlery was dimly lit through a couple of candles. Pairs of small eyes were glowing through the semi-darkness.

‘Lumos,’ Albus said, lighting his wand.

He said down on the chair beside the small wooden table in the corner. He put his wand on the top and produced a piece of parchment a self-filling quill from his pocket.

 _Hi Mum, thanks for your letter,_ he wrote. _I’m OK. Scorpius tried out for the Quidditch team. He’s a chaser now and practising almost every day. Prof. McGonagall reduced our detention sessions to once a week, that’s why it’s possible. I think he is quite good but they won’t let me watch their training so I won’t tell James or Rose about it._

He paused to think. What more was there to say? _Mum, I’m having nightmares about Voldemort? Mum, I just realised that I don’t have any friends?_ No, he couldn’t write that. His parents were probably worrying about him enough as it was, there was no need to encourage them. He decided to end his letter just there and that.

 

He got a reply the next morning over breakfast.

 

_Dear Albus,_

_Please give our congratulations to Scorpius. We would be happy to come see him play, if that’s OK with you._

_Love, Mum and Dad_

* * *

 

It was the week before Hallowe’en. Scorpius and Albus were walking down the grounds towards Hagrid’s hut where they were supposed to help him carve the pumpkins for the feast in the Great Hall. They had put on their winter cloaks against the winter cold. Scorpius blond hair was hidden under a green hat.

‘Dad’s coming to see the match next week,’ Scorpius told him.

‘My parents are coming, too,’ Albus said. ‘Oh, forgot to tell you, they said “congratulations” and stuff.’

‘Thanks.’

They walked in silence until they had reached Hagrid’s hut. When Albus was little, he had been extremely intimidated by the half-giant. He was not a frequent guest at the Potters’, but he always celebrated his father’s birthday with them and send them a Christmas present. Last year it had been a large terrarium with real life fairies. He had also cared for the ferret Albus had adopted before it had died of old age.

Hagrid waited for them in his little garden. He had harvested six enormous pumpkins. They were as high as Albus’ shoulders.

‘Alrigh’, boys,’ Hagrid said. ‘I want yeh ter carve ‘em out and then we can go about and decorate ‘em.’

It was easier said than done. Albus and Scorpius each climbed a pumpkin and used _Diffindo_ and _Defodio_ to carve into the orange flesh. It took them two hours until they were finished. By then the sun had set behind the trees of the Forbidden Forest and it had started to rain. What was first only a drizzle was now a proper shower and the rain slowly worked its way through their thick cloaks. Shivering Albus climbed down from the pumpkin he had carved last. His feet landed in the mud, dirtying the hemline of his trousers.

A struck of lightening illuminated their faces.

‘I guess I can finish the rest tomorrow,’ Hagrid said, ‘and yeh two get ter bed. Yeh’ve been a great help.’

 

Before they could go to bed, however, they had to get rid of their wet clothes. Sam sighed, exasperated, as they came into the dorm, dripping wet. They undressed and put their cloaks in front of the little heater in the middle of the room. They went to the bathroom. Like the common room it had a large window towards the lake. Now that it was dark outside, they could only see a few water plants but when the sun shone full, the water was a blue-ish green. Albus and Scorpius each got into adjacent cubicles and turned on the hot water. After an evening in the cold and wet, the warm water was marvellous. Albus closed his eyes and let the water fall over his face. Next to him he could hear Scorpius hum. He smiled. Scorpius was notorious for singing in the shower. He wasn’t exactly talented but that didn’t seem to stop him. And sure enough, a couple minutes later Scorpius broke out into song. It was a song from the nineties, his uncle Bill had played it to him one time. His parents had listened to this kind of music when they were his age. Albus washed his hair and then turned off the shower. He dried himself with a towel and stepped outside the cubicle. He heard Scorpius turn off the water, too, and then he stopped singing.

‘Hey, Albus?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Do you think I put on muscles?’

‘From Quidditch practice?’

‘Yeah,’ Scorpius said, dramatically pulling aside the curtain.

He looked at Albus expectantly, hands on his hips.

‘Er, I’m not sure that’s possible over such a short time’ Albus said.

That was not the whole truth, however. Albus didn’t want to stare when they were getting dressed, but he couldn’t help but notice that Scorpius wasn’t as gangly as he used to be. He had grown over the summer and his growth spurt hadn’t stopped at height. Scorpius _did_ look stronger and more muscular, especially compared to himself. He looked rather good, Albus had to admit. Albus himself was all soft arms and tummy and he was a good six inches shorter than Scorpius. Neither of his parents was particularly tall, so he had no high hopes that it would change in the future. His hair was as unruly as his father’s and he had freckles all over his face. Scorpius hair always looked perfect.

Scorpius pretended to flex his muscles.

‘Wow, you really have me engorgimpressed,’ Albus said.

‘Oh, shut up,’ Scorpius laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience!! Thanks for waiting so long for the next chapter and also for enduring to read it. The next one will have a bit more action, with Scorpius' first match coming up, as well as a family reunion.  
> I'm really sorry but I'm currently on hiatus due to four term papers that I'm working on. If you'd like to read the rest of the story, feel free to subscribe then you'll be notified once I started writing again :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I guess the hiatus was the whole semester oops... I'll try to update a bit sooner the next time. Although I have to write the next term paper aaarrrhggh. Also I skipped a bit plot-wise, so this is after the match. I just didn't feel like writing Quidditch and it's the result that matters so... Special thanks to princesskiwifruit for talking about headcanons and asking me what will happen next. You're the best!

The Slytherin team was assaulted by green-clad pupils celebrating their success. The noise was overwhelming; first-years were screaming his name; Magnus patted his back so hard it hurt. His legs were trembling. They had just won the game. And he hadn’t made a complete fool of himself. No, he had actually contributed to their win, catching the snitch at just the right moment. Two seventh-years lifted him up and put him on their shoulders, completely ignoring his protests. They carried him towards the exit of the pitch, the Slytherin crowd following. He was carried all the way down to the dungeons. Only in front of the entrance to the common room did they put him down.

He noticed that the snitch was still in his tight grasp.

 

After taking a well-deserved shower Scorpius joined with the other Slytherins in the common room. It was crammed with students. Some of them seemed to have sneaked into the kitchen and gotten a few snacks. The desk opposite the fireplace had transformed into a buffet. He realised how hungry he was and grabbed a pastry.

‘Great job, Malfoy,’ Leah said, joining him at the table.

‘Thanks,’ Scorpius said between two bites.

‘Potter not joining you?’ she asked.

Now that she mentioned it, Scorpius scanned the room for his best friend.

He had seen Albus in the crowd on the Quidditch pitch and assumed that he had fallen back. But his messy dark hair was nowhere to be seen. Maybe they had missed each other and Albus had already gone to bed? When he came back from Quidditch practice Albus was usually asleep, sometimes with a book lying on his chest. He was often tossing and turning in his sleep. Scorpius wasn’t surprised. He, too, frequently had nightmares. It was worse now that he was back at Hogwarts. In his nightmares, he was often back in the other Hogwarts, the one where he was the Scorpion King and Voldemort was alive. Then he woke up, drenched in sweat. He frantically searched for his wand. Once he had it, he usually felt safer, but he wasn’t at ease before he had ignited his wand and tip-toed to Albus’ bed to check if he was there; that this was _his_ Hogwarts. The other day he had dreamt of stairs, endless steps. He couldn’t get to the top, no matter how hard he tried. Sometimes the stairs would change their direction and he would get a glimpse of Albus on the other side of the staircase. He would call out to him, but Albus didn’t hear him.

Quidditch usually wore him out and sometimes he dozed off immediately. The night after his first practice had been the best sleep he had gotten this school year. He had talked to Albus until he had fallen asleep. He wasn’t sure what had awoken him in the night, but Albus was whimpering. ‘No,’ he had called out. ‘ _Please!_ ’ Scorpius had woken his friend up and managed to calm him down. He had found his hand under the blanket. _I’m here._ The touch was reassuring, maybe even more for him than for Albus. _It’s okay, he’s right here next to you._ It was a good feeling. He wished that he could have that every night, but that wasn’t possible of course. Their dorm mates would think it was weird – or that he was some cry-baby who couldn’t sleep on its own – and of course Albus, too, had a say in this.

He felt that lately the two of them were drifting apart. They used to spend so much time together, doing homework, cracking jokes, making plans how he could ask Rose out. Writing essays wasn’t as fun when Albus wasn’t sitting in the chair next to him groaning about the workload. And thinking about Rose was just depressing when there was no one to lift his spirits. Albus always knew how to cheer him up. Without his encouragement, he wouldn’t have made it into the team, that much was clear. It was okay to be a loser who enjoyed History of Magic classes and it was even bearable to be called son of Voldemort, because Albus got how he felt. Or so he had thought. Why was he avoiding him now?

 

By the fire, Magnus was chatting animatedly with another guy from his year. Felicia was surrounded by a group of excited first-years who wanted her autograph. Leah had set up her little blackboard and was already analysing the match. He took a butterbeer from the buffet table. He took an unsure step towards his teammates. All the seats in front of the fire were taken. He changed directions and sat down on one of the steps leading to the common room entrance. He watched his teammates from afar. They were great but so far, he hadn’t really clicked with either of them. During practice, Felicia was always focused on nothing but the game; Leah had an air of authority and Magnus, well, Magnus just seemed much too cool to hang out with the likes of him. He just wasn’t as charming as Magnus, who could come up with a joke in a split-second; who could wink and smirk that your knees got all wobbly. Being good at Quidditch didn’t seem to make him more to attractive to anyone either. Sure, they had celebrated him on the pitch but now in the common room, no one took notice of him. Not even Polly Chapman. So the Quidditch thing hadn’t been what had drawn her to him in the other reality. There must have been something else about the other Scorpius, he thought. Although, from what he had gathered, Scorpion King Scorpius was just an absolute dickhead. _And he was confident_. _He would go over to his team and be the centre of the party_ , a little voice in his head said. _Well, I’m not him!_ He replied to it angrily.

Was it his fault that being a Malfoy was not as great as it was in the other reality? Was it his fault what his grandparents and his father had done in the war? Was it his fault that all his live the newspapers had spewed rumours about his birth? Was it really so surprising that he had no friends except for Albus? _Maybe you’re just that annoying_. He could be a know-it-all, he knew that. He talked too much. He talked too much about stuff that no one was interested in.

Maybe that was why Albus was doing without Scorpius now; why he was always asleep when Scorpius came back from practice – because honestly, when had they ever been going to bed early? – maybe that was why Albus wasn’t there, celebrating with the rest of the Slytherins.

He stood up to get another butterbeer. Just then the common room door opened.

Albus.

He descended the stairs hurriedly and brushed past him.

‘Albus!’ Scorpius called after him.

He followed his friend to their dorm.

‘Albus, hey!’

Once the door was shut behind them, Albus turned around.

‘WHAT?!’ he asked furiously.

‘What? I just – where were you?’

Albus glowered at him.

‘Where was _I_?’ he spat out.

‘Yes, we were all celebrating and -’

‘Well, good for you! This is your big day, then, isn’t it? Been giving out autographs, I presume? Guess you had to fend off a ton of proposals, too.’

‘I don’t get it,’ Scorpius said, horrified.

Had Albus gone completely mad? His eyes were wide, the green paint on the lower half of his face smeared.

‘Oooh look at me, catching all the snitches I’m so great!’ Albus imitated in a high-pitched voice. ‘It’s all oh sorry Albus, I’ve got Quidditch practice today! I’m gonna be the next big Quidditch star! Have you seen me fly lately, I’m so great!’

This was more than unfair! He never talked like that. Why was Albus suddenly like this? This cruel, this mocking?

‘Why don’t you go and back celebrate with Magnus and whatever. Sure, you don’t need me for that,’ Albus continued while taking off his robes aggressively.

‘But I wanted you to celebrate with me!’ Scorpius said, now louder.

‘Oh, you _wanted_? It’s always about what you want, right? You act like the whole world revolves around you!’ Albus replied hotly.

‘Well, now you know what that feels like, for a change!’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for that ending!! It will all be explained in the next chapter (this time for real, I promise). Please comment if you want me to write on, I need that extra motivation right now ^^


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a) Sorry that this took so long. b) Sorry for this. Really. It's going to be painful. I don't know why I'm doing this to these characters.

The noise was overwhelming. Green-clad students were pouring onto the Quidditch pitch. Albus couldn’t quite believe it. His mother patted him on the back. ‘Congratulations,’ she said. Her other arm was around a very disappointed Lily.

They had been sitting at the top of one of the towers that surrounded the pitch. The seats were reserved for the teachers and visitors, like family and, sometimes, talent scouts. Albus got up. He wanted to go and see Scorpius. Scorpius, who had played outstanding. Scorpius, who had caught the snitch like he had been doing this all his life! He descended the stairs in a hurry, nearly tripping a couple of times. Once at the bottom he rushed onto the muddy field. The Slytherin team was engulfed by their fans already. He couldn’t make out Scorpius among all the green – but then, two seventh-years put him on their shoulders.

‘Al!’

He turned around to see his mum and dad at the bottom of the stairs, a little out of breath.

‘Albus,’ his mother said, ‘let’s go.’

‘Let’s… let’s go?’ he repeated, dumbfounded.

‘We’ve got a table booked for lunch at the Three Broomsticks,’ Harry explained.

‘But – I’m not allowed to go to Hogsmeade.’

‘Special permission from Professor McGonagall,’ Lily chimed in.

‘Well, seems like the name Potter still opens doors.’

Albus turned around to see Scorpius’ dad walking over to them. He was dressed in black as usual, his lips pressed together, his hands joined behind his back.

‘Ginny,’ he said with a short nod in her direction.

‘Draco,’ she replied, rather cool for her.

Albus didn’t know what to think of Draco Malfoy. He had always had an air of authority about him, like a very strict teacher, maybe. Whenever he was around him, he felt like Mr Malfoy might start telling him off for something. Scorpius said that, really, his father was okay, just a bit _difficult_.

Mr Malfoy took a step towards him and Albus nearly flinched, but Mr Malfoy only offered him his hand. Albus shook it tentatively, feeling his parents’ eyes on them.

‘Congratulations,’ he said. ‘Good to see Slytherin on top.’

‘Um… thank you,’ Albus said.

Sure, he was happy that Slytherin had won, but this was hardly his triumph. It was Scorpius’.

‘I see even your mother has switched sides,’ Mr Malfoy said, with the hint of a smile on his lips.

Albus looked at his mother, who looked down on her emerald green trench-coat. Before she or anyone else could say something, they were interrupted by a very grim looking James Potter Junior.

‘Mum, dad,’ he said through clenched teeth, his dark hair wet from the shower he must have taken in record time.

Mr Malfoy gave them all a pointed look before making his way to the castle.

 

Lunch was terrible. James had always been a sore loser and being the Gryffindor team captain hadn’t helped. He was practically spearing his food with his fork; the plate made a horrifying screeching noise each time.

‘James, be a bit more considerate to your plate, yeah?’ Harry said after a while. ‘I’m sure Madam Rosmerta would appreciate getting in back in one piece.’

James threw his fork on the table and crossed his arms.

‘Losing one match isn’t the end of the world,’ Ginny said in a soothing tone.

‘Well, it might be for me! This is my last year at Hogwarts! This is my last chance to show talent scout’s what I can do!’ James glared at her. ‘I know you don’t get it, you didn’t even have to try out to play because you were _famous_.’

He spat out the last word.

‘Your mother fought in a war to keep this world safe! She didn’t ask to be famous! None of us did!’ Harry said and it was apparent that he was having a hard time keeping his voice down.

‘I don’t care!’

‘People died!’ Harry said heatedly. ‘They died so _you_ could have a normal life!’

‘Yeah, well, I don’t have a normal life, do I?’ James replied. ‘I’m your son! My parents are the _great Potters_. I have to live up to the name all the time! You have no idea what that feels like!’

Albus exchanged a look with his sister. This was new to them both. Albus had always assumed that James was actually quite comfortable with being, well, a Potter. He had thought that he might even be enjoying it. The stares, whenever one entered a room; the whispers, the awkward conversations. But maybe they weren’t so different after all.

‘I don’t know what that feels like?’ Harry was in a rage now. ‘I had to live up to that name all my life! When my parents died-’

Albus could tell from the look on his face what he was seeing before his mind’s eye: Voldemort, the screams, the green light and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

‘Yes, we all know the story!’ James cut his father off. ‘But your parents were dead. Mine are alive and I’m compared to you every day. They’re thinking, “Oh, James Potter, is a as great a wizard as his father?” and “Oh, James Potter, is really as good a player as his mother?”’

‘James, there are other career options than Quidditch.’

Apparently Ginny wanted to try and get this conversation back to safer shores. People were staring at them. More than usual.

‘Yeah, right, cause the rest of the world thinks I’m a dumb trouble-maker like Albus who doesn’t know his wand from his arse!’

‘James!’ Ginny and Lily protested in unison.

So much for the sympathy. Dragon dung remained dragon dung.

‘Mum, can I go?’ Albus said.

‘Al, please. James, apologise to your brother!’ Ginny said, taking Albus’ hand.

‘Don’t bother,’ Albus said. ‘This isn’t about James. I want to see Scorpius.’

‘Albus this is family time. Your father took the day off so we could come and see you.’

‘Well, I didn’t ask him to, okay?!’

For a moment there was silence, only interrupted by Lily who was slurping a Pepper Imp slushy through a straw.

‘Excuse me? You’re Ginny Potter, right?’ someone said.

They all turned around to see a middle-aged witch.

‘Could I have an autograph?’

She held a large flamingo quill and a notebook towards Ginny.

‘Sure,’ Albus’ mother said and forced her face into a smile.

It wasn’t that convincing but maybe that was because Albus knew her so well. The witch at least seemed happy. She stared at Harry for a bit longer than politeness allowed and then left their table.

‘I’m going,’ Albus declared.

This time, neither his mother nor his father tried to stop him.

 

It was cold in the village. Albus crossed his arms in front of his chest to protect him from the November wind. It was quite a walk up to the castle, so he quickened his step. Scorpius had probably spent the day celebrating with his team mates down in the common room. He seemed to be best buddies with that Magnus now.

‘Mr Potter!’

Albus didn’t stop to see who was calling after him.

‘Mr Potter!’

He heard footsteps and then a wizard in a blue cloak caught up with him. He thought he had seen him sitting in the pub.

‘ _Witch Weekly_. Would you like to comment on the fight at the _Three Broomsticks_?’

Albus ignored him and walked on. The wizard followed him down the muddy main road.

 ‘– Is it true that your father is overworked and planning to give up his post as Head of Magical Law Enforcement?’

Albus stopped in his tracks, drawing his wand.

‘Why don’t you ask him?!’

‘Yes,’ the wizard said surprised, looking down at the tip of the wand that was pointed at him.

He turned and hurried away. Albus saw him disapparate soon after. _Great,_ he thought. He could imagine the headline: _Potter kid gone wild: Disturbed 15-year-old Albus Potter draws wand on reporter after row with famous father at Hogsmeade pub_.

 _Dumb trouble-maker._ Maybe James was right. What had he ever achieved? He wasn’t like Scorpius who aced at every test. He wasn’t as Scorpius who was now a Quidditch champion, too. He wasn’t as good-looking or as funny. It was no wonder Scorpius preferred spending time with the Quidditch team. That Magnus was a lot cooler than he would ever be. And he also probably didn’t have any stupid delusions of grandeur that could have killed both of them.

He walked uphill, the wet grass soaking through his shoes. Scorpius and the others were partying while he had to put up with his family.

He muttered the password to the Slytherin common room and the stone wall opened up for him. He ignored the people standing together, eating, drinking, laughing and walked straight to the dorms. Maybe he could find some peace and quiet there. He would take a shower, lie down and hope that sleep would overtake him and give him a rest from all this madness.

‘Albus, hey!’

The door shut with a slam. He turned around. He didn’t care who it was. They should all leave him alone!

 ‘WHAT?!’

‘What? I just – where were you?’

It was Scorpius, in a plain white shirt, with no tie on.

‘Where was _I_?’

‘Yes, we were all celebrating and -’ Scorpius started.

‘Well, good for you! This is your big day, then, isn’t it? Been giving out autographs, I presume? Guess you had to fend off a ton of proposals, too.’

All the anger that he’d been holding, the anger at James, at his parents, at the reporter and at himself, came out.

‘I don’t get it,’ Scorpius said with big eyes.

‘Oooh look at me, catching all the snitches I’m so great!’ Albus imitated in a high-pitched voice. ‘It’s all oh sorry Albus, I’ve got Quidditch practice today! I’m gonna be the next big Quidditch star! Have you seen me fly lately, I’m so great! Why don’t you go and back celebrate with Magnus and whatever. Sure, you don’t need me for that.’

He threw off his robes.

‘But I wanted you to celebrate with me!’

‘Oh, you _wanted_? It’s always about what you want, right? You act like the whole world revolves around you!’ Albus replied hotly.

‘Well, now you know what that feels like, for a change!’ Scorpius replied and stormed off.

The tears came quick, and the tears came many. They ran down his face. He wanted to scream but he couldn’t. His throat was so tight. He clenched his fists until his nails dug deep into his palms. He threw himself on the bed, still mostly dressed, crying and crying and crying until the tears ran dry. He lay there, empty. This was it, wasn’t it? Him and Scorpius. Over.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be less painful. I promise.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long hiatus. I moved countries. Mostly I was just lazy and undisciplined, though. This chapter is brought to you by @princesskiwifruit who made it a contest who would update their fic first. I'm kinda cheating because I had some of this already written and my chapters are a lot shorter than hers, but it was a good incentive! Also I really wanted to finish this story before seeing the play! But since that's next week and I still haven't done anything significant for my essays yet (oops) that won't be possible. Still, I hope to finish write one or two more chapters to round this all up. I haven't edited this chapter, so please excuse the mistakes. I'll do it soon.

They didn’t talk to each other. Albus was sitting next to Sam during breakfast and he partnered with the Scamander twins in Herbology. Albus and Scorpius stayed quiet while they pickled toads in the dungeons. It was one of the worst weeks Albus had ever had at Hogwarts and that was really saying something. He had regretted saying what he had said almost the moment it had slipped out of his mouth. He wanted to blame his father, he wanted to blame James, to blame the _Witch Weekly_ reporter but deep down he knew that this was on him.

_Now you know what that feels like, for a change!_ Scorpius’ words kept replaying in his mind. The thought that they weren’t friends anymore was almost unbearable. All he wanted to do was lay in bed and be miserable. He knew that he couldn’t skip lessons now, however, if he wanted to get any O.W.L.s.

There was no escaping Scorpius, really – they had most of their classes together and whenever Albus was in the common room, he also seemed to be there. To make things worse, Albus saw Rose catch up with Scorpius after Charms and the two of them talked all the way to the Great Hall and it didn’t seem like Rose was being mean to him at all.

 

Friday afternoon was dark and gloomy. The wind was storming as if it was determined to blow away the castle. It was the weekly strategy meet-up of the Slytherin team, however, so Albus went for a walk around the Black Lake, to not have to see Scorpius. He had been avoiding the common room (and the library too, since it was Scorpius’ favourite haunt). It was pathetic, really.

He soon had to light his wand to stay on the path. When he saw two silhouettes emerging from the near-by forest edge, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. One of them was holding a wand, too, the other seemed to be carrying a ginormous lantern. He braced himself for a fight but once they came closer he realised it was just Hagrid and Professor Longbottom.

‘Al,’ Hagrid asked, when they could see each other’s faces, ‘whatta yer doing out after dark?’

‘It’s not that late, is it?’ Albus said defensively. ‘Um, Professor?’ He added.

The last thing he needed was more detention. Although Neville and Hagrid were understanding teachers.

‘Well, that’s November for ya, innit?’ Hagrid said.

‘I think we best accompany you best to the castle, Albus,’ Neville decided.

‘Okay,’ Albus said.

They walked in silence, Neville leading the way.

When they reached the point where the path split, Hagrid stopped, pensive.

‘How would yer feel ‘bout a nice cuppa tea?’

 

It was warm and cosy in Hagrid’s hut. Once they had settled around Hagrid’s table, he busied himself with boiling water for tea. He offered them some cookies which Neville politely declined. Albus’ stomach was growling so he was grateful. He tried to take a bite, but the cookie was rock-hard.

‘What were yer doing out there on yer own anyway?’ Hagrid asked.

‘Getting some fresh air,’ Albus said evasively.

‘Didn’t put yer down as a great fan of the outdoors,’ Hagrid said.

‘Needed to be alone for a while?’ Neville asked kindly.

Albus nodded.

‘Know the feeling. You students are around each other 24/7. After a while that gets irritating.’

Hagrid poured them tea. Albus dipped his cookie into the hot beverage experimentally.

‘I had a fight with Scorpius,’ Albus said.

He wasn’t sure why he decided to tell them. It was like his grandfather always said: _The truth will out_.

‘I noticed you didn’t partner in class,’ Neville said. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’

‘I don’t know,’ Albus said.

What was there to say? That he had been stupid? That he was a selfish dick? That Scorpius deserved better friends who could be happy for him instead of being… jealous. That was what this was all about when it came down to it. It wasn’t envy; he didn’t want to be Scorpius. He was just afraid that Scorpius wouldn’t like to be his friend any more now that he had other friends to spend time with. And because he had been so stupid this was now actually the case. He sipped at his tea, burning his lips. It hurt, but he felt that he kind of deserved that.

‘He doesn’t talk to me any longer.’

Hagrid let out a rumbling laugh. Albus looked up at him. How could he laugh about this?

‘Yer dad used to have fights like this with Ron a lot,’ Hagrid said. ‘They wouldn’t talk to each other for ages, isn’t that right, Neville?’

Neville nodded.

‘Have you tried talking to him?’ Neville asked.

‘Well – no,’ Albus said.

‘So how can you be sure he doesn’t want to talk?’

‘What did yer guys fight over?’ Hagrid asked when Albus didn’t reply.

Albus took another contemplative bite from his cookie.

 

Neville accompanied him back to the castle.

‘It’s going to be alright,’ he said when they parted ways in the entrance hall. ‘You’ll see.’

Albus wasn’t all convinced but he was in a decidedly better mood than he had been before talking to him and Hagrid.

 

When he came up to the Great Hall the next morning, he was determined to talk to Scorpius. He wasn’t sure what he was going to say. He would try to apologise. How did one apologise for being an overall crap friend?

His determination faltered when he saw Scorpius and Rose sitting next to each other at the Gryffindor table. Students sitting at another house’s table wasn’t forbidden strictly speaking, but it wasn’t a frequent occurrence either. Great. So now Scorpius had fled his house because of him. His porridge tasted bland even after he had mixed in an excessive amount of jam into it. He watched Rose and Scorpius talk. Scorpius was with his back to him, so he couldn’t see his face, but Rose was quite at ease.

Albus jumped when Leah slumped down next to him.

‘What’s going on with Malfoy and Granger-Weasley?’

‘What?’

‘Are they, like, together? I thought you two were together.’

‘Me and Rose? We’re related!’

‘No, smartass, _you and_ _Scorpius_ ,’ Leah said with a sigh.

Him and Scorpius? Why was she thinking that?

‘No,’ Albus said.

‘I know I came off a bit harsh that time at the try-outs, but I’d actually much rather had you two dating. I mean, yes, you’re a Potter, but you’re also a Slytherin. Granger-Weasley on the other hand…’

They both looked over to Rose who was laughing about a joke another Gryffindor had made.

 

_You and Scorpius._ Was that what people were thinking? Well, it wasn’t that far off. Neither of them had ever had a girlfriend and apart from their immediate classmates no one knew about Scorpius’ crush on Rose. But the reason he never had a girlfriend wasn’t that he was secretly together with Scorpius. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to have a girlfriend. It was just that there had never been any girls he had found particularly interesting. The thing with Delphi was… well, she had treated him like he was cool, and he had been flattered. When he thought about it now it he felt embarrassed, if not terrified. And he didn’t really have to think about girls anyway, because none of his classmates had actually shown any interest in him. It had always been the same with Scorpius. Sure, Scorpius had been fawning over Rose for centuries, but Albus had never thought that he stood a chance. Not that Scorpius was out of her league or anything. No, he had always thought that Scorpius was rather handsome. But the way Rose had acted towards them, had been less than friendly. Something had changed.

 

He was still wrapped up in his own thoughts when he came down for lunch. So wrapped up that he accidentally ran into someone. They dropped their books, an ink pot cracked and pink ink spilled over the steps.

‘Merlin’s butthole! Can’t you see where you’re going?!’ Lily Potter spat, followed by a much calmer, ‘Oh, it’s you.’

‘Sorry,’ Albus said in a small voice.

His un-angry reply seemed to startle Lily who said, ‘It’s okay. Are you okay?’

She soaked up her ink and together they picked up the books.

He made a non-committed noise.

‘You still mad because of the fight with James and dad?’ she guessed.

‘If it makes you feel better Mum was angry with both of them afterwards,’ Lily said. ‘And then when we left the _Three Broomsticks_ there was this really obnoxious reporter and _she hexed him_.’

‘Really?’ Albus said, taken aback.

‘Yeah, it was in the paper.’

‘Wow. I mean, I nearly hexed him too.’

‘So you met him, as well?’

‘Yeah.’

‘People these days,’ Lily said sagely. ‘But you’re really okay?’

‘I’m fine,’ Albus replied reflexively, followed by a nervous laugh. ‘Do you think Scorpius and Rose are together?’

It came out before he could stop himself. Lily stared at him, then she let out a loud laugh.

‘No, I don’t think so. I _really_ don’t think so. Why do you think so?’

‘She’s… they’re talking to each other.’

‘Well, so do you, don’t you?’ Lily said. ‘There’s usually a lot more going on, if you’re dating someone. Not that you’d know, of course.’

‘Thanks.’

‘You’re welcome. But no, they’re not dating. Don’t you think Scorpius would tell you?’

Albus blushed.

‘We’re not talking…’ he said and added, as if it would make things sound less pathetic, ‘at the moment.’

‘Shit. I mean, I don’t know what the deal between you two is, but, like, you’re best friends, aren’t you? You’ve been through hell together, right? So, I’m sure you can fix it.’ She pondered for a moment. ‘I saw Scorpius earlier today. He looked lonely.’

‘You think?’

‘Albus Severus Amando Dippet Potter – you’re the least observant person I have ever known. Just, believe me when I tell you that he looks lonely, okay.’

‘Okay.’

‘Good. Gotta go grab some lunch before Transfig starts.’

 

Scorpius came in their dorm just as Albus was getting ready to take a shower. Scorpius stopped in the door way, as if he was debating on whether to turn around and leave again. He didn’t, however. He just stood there and stared. Albus felt self-conscious in his underwear. He avoided Scorpius’ eyes before hurrying to the bathroom.

_This is ridiculous_ , he thought, while the water rushed over him. _I’m just gonna go up to him tomorrow and say I’m sorry. Simple as that._ Just as he turned off the water he heard laughter and then two boys talking.

‘I could totally beat you at wizard chess.’

‘Yeah, _right_.’

Again laughter and then – what was that noise? He stepped out of the shower. Leaning against the glass window to the lake where two scantily dressed boys, _kissing._ It took Albus a moment to understand what he was seeing and a moment longer to recognise one of the boys as Magnus, the Slytherins’ chaser. It took him even a moment longer to realise that his staring was probably terribly rude. Magnus was a true athlete. Tall for a sixteen-year-old, with broad shoulders, and brown skin. The boy currently kissing him had red hair; he was clutching Magnus back and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying himself. Albus tip-toed out of the room.

* * *

 

The nightmares had come back. Godric’s Hollow, Umbridge, Delphini. Green light. Craig dying, but it wasn’t Craig this time. It was Albus. He woke up drenched in sweat. Darkness enveloped Scorpius. Mechanically he searched for his wand. Once he had found it, he whispered ‘ _Lumos_.’ The tip of his wand illuminated the small space of his four-poster bed, curtains closed. He tried to steady his breath. This was Hogwarts. His Hogwarts. And had all been a dream. He opened the curtains to his right to get a glass of water. While he reached for the water jug he saw that Albus’ curtains where open as well – and that his bed was deserted. Panic instantly took over. What, if… what if all this time spend with Albus was the dream, what if he was actually back in the timeline where Voldemort had won and where Albus didn’t exist?

‘Albus?’

He went over to his bed to make sure he hadn’t overlooked him. He hadn’t. The common room. He nearly ran, the stone floor cold under his bare feet.

‘Albus!’ he repeated, loud enough to wake the house, but he couldn’t care less about that now. ‘Albus!’

A movement in front of the fireplace. He drew his wand, fingers shaking.

‘Scorpius?’

It was Albus, sitting close to the fire. He stood up, as Scorpius let out a shaky breath.

‘You’re alive.’

‘Of course I am,’ Albus said puzzled.

Scorpius walked up to him and pulled him in for a hug. It was probably too tight, but Albus wasn’t complaining. He held him close until he felt sure that this was real, that Albus was really there, standing next to him.

‘I hate it,’ Albus whispered in Scorpius ear. ‘I hate not talking to you.’

‘Me too.’

Scorpius slowly let go of Albus. His face was golden in the light of the fireplace. For a second it didn’t feel like anything had happened between them at all.

Scorpius dropped down on the floor and Albus followed suit. He fumbled with the seam of his bathrobes.

‘Couldn’t sleep.’

‘Nightmare,’ Scorpius replied.

‘Shit.’

They sat there in silence for a while, not looking at each other.

‘I’m sorry,’ Albus said. ‘For what I said. I messed up. I mean, this is your life and you should, I don’t know, follow your dreams. And just know, I _am_ happy for you. I guess I was… I was afraid that… afraid that you wouldn’t want to be my friend anymore. Stupid, I guess.’

‘Yeah,’ Scorpius said. ‘You’re my best friend.’

‘Am I?’

‘ _Yes_.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always welcome, especially if you have plot suggestions *side-eye emoji*.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long time, no see! I had most of this written for ages. It's mostly a filler chapter and that's why I was reluctant to post it. But I think it's best to just put it out there and then continue writing. Hopefully, I will come to a satisfying conclusion soon.

‘You’re the best friend I could imagine. I’m so glad I offered you the sweets that day.’

‘To be honest, I didn’t just stay for your sweets,’ Albus said.

‘Oh really? What was it then? My singing? My _dazzling_ personality?’

Albus laughed. It was good to hear that laugh again. Scorpius hadn’t known that he missed it.

‘Maybe… maybe we should be honest about our feelings more often,’ Scorpius said, hesitant.

‘I feel relieved,’ Albus said, after a beat. ‘I feel relieved that we’re talking again. And I hope you can forgive me for being so stupid.’

Scorpius acknowledged this with a nod. He didn’t look at Albus, however, when he spoke.

‘I feel – I don’t really feel like I fit in with the team. Sure, they’re nice but it’s not like it’s when I’m with _you_. It’s easy being me around you. I feel like if I mess up during practice, they will realise what a complete loser I am and that putting me on the team was all a big mistake.’

‘I feel like they don’t appreciate you then.’

‘I feel like I probably worry about things too much.’

‘I feel like that too, a lot of times,’ Albus said.

‘I feel like this is stopping us from getting the things we really want.’

‘What do you really want?’

‘I want…’ He pondered.

Before Scorpius could think of an answer, the entrance to the common room slid open. A red-head dressed in a fluffy pink dressing robe tip-toed through the room, tip of her wand alight. It was Felicia Wood, the Slytherin chaser. She didn’t notice them sitting next to the remains of the fire. She disappeared behind the door that led to the girls’ dorms as quick as she had come.

‘Well, that was odd,’ Albus remarked.

Scorpius nodded and stifled a yawn.

‘Go to bed?’ he asked.

Albus agreed.

 

‘Do you want to come to Quidditch practice?’ Scorpius asked that weekend.

‘If Leah doesn’t mind?’ Albus said.

‘I already asked. She said it’s okay. Come to think of it she seemed oddly happy about it.’

To his surprise, Albus ears went pink.

‘Did… did she say something?’ Scorpius asked.

Albus looked at his Astronomy essay instead of Scorpius when he said, ‘She told me she’d rather have us being together – as in together-together – than you and Rose.’

‘What?’

‘You know, because of Quidditch. Because she’s a Gryffindor,’ Albus explained very quickly.

‘Huh,’ Scorpius made.

It was weird that Leah would be thinking about his love life.

‘It’s so stupid, right?’ Albus said.

‘Yeah – I mean, what would she do if Rose and I got together? Take me off the team?’

‘Dunno. Not sure if she’s allowed to. Wouldn’t that be, like, discrimination?’

‘I would say so!’

‘She’s quite harsh sometimes…’ Albus said. A smile appeared on his face. ‘Isn’t that exactly your type?’

Scorpius glowered at him, but he wasn’t angry. They were back to their usual banter.

‘Met any nice old ladies lately?’ he retorted. ‘I heard the trolley lady said she was really impressed by your stunt last year.’

‘You mean _our_ stunt.’

‘That was your idea entirely. I merely followed. By the way, Dad has officially deemed you a bad influence.’

‘You’re older than me! Shouldn’t you be a bad influence on me?’ Albus protested.

 

On Monday, they met Rose in the entrance hall on their way to breakfast.

‘Hi Scorpius, hi Albus!’ Rose said with a grin that Scorpius had come to associate with an unpleasant remark following.

No such remark came, however. Instead Rose waited patiently for them to return a greeting.

‘Hi!’ Scorpius said.

He stepped forward, to shake her hand, or to hug her? He wasn’t sure himself.

‘How are you?’ he asked feebly, when none of that happened.

‘Feeling a little invaded in my personal space?’

‘Sorry,’ Scorpius said immediately and stepped back in a hurry.

 _Way to go, Scorpius_ , he thought to himself.

‘I just like having some space. Doesn’t mean we can’t talk,’ Rose said.

Talk. For four years Rose had ignored them or taunted them. What had changed? He looked over to Albus who looked similarly nonplussed.

‘Why now?’

‘Pardon?’ Rose asked.

Scorpius cleared his throat. Still, his voice was a little croaky when he repeated his question.

‘Why are you talking to us now?’

Rose ears went pink. It remined him of Albus in the common room.

‘I’ve been thinking a lot lately. I realised can be very mean sometimes. And that’s not really who I want to be. That’s not what my parents taught me – and not what they were fighting for.’

‘You’re not exactly a Death Eater,’ Scorpius said.

‘Gee, thanks,’ Rose said, dismissively. Then she paused. ‘Sorry, I’m doing it again, aren’t I? What I was trying to say is that I noticed that I’m prejudiced sometimes and that’s not fair. You’re an okay person. And, no offence, Albus,’ – she nodded in Albus’ direction – ‘you’re the only student in this school who seems to have brains. So, it shouldn’t matter that you’re a Malfoy or a Slytherin. This whole house rivalry is bullshit anyway, isn’t it?’

‘Yeah,’ Scorpius agreed.

‘Alright, gotta go, I’m meeting with – um, I’m going to the library.’

She rushed past them, but instead of climbing the marble staircase, she took the steps that led to the dungeons. Albus and Scorpius exchanged a confused look.

‘Think she’s losing her marbles?’ Albus asked.

Scorpius shrugged. This whole Rose business was a bit too much for his nerves.

 

At the breakfast table, two owls were waiting for them. Scorpius recognised his father’s tidy handwriting on one of the envelopes and curiously untied it. Draco Malfoy seldom wrote letters. Next to him, Albus studied his letter. He unrolled the parchment.

 

_Dear Scorpius,_

_I was approached by the Potters yesterday who asked whether it would be okay for you to spend some time with them during the Christmas holidays. I have told them that you have my permission if you should wish to. We will be spending_

_Please let me know if there is anything you would like me to order from_ Flourish & Blotts _._

_Your father Draco_

He looked up from the letter. Albus was still reading. Then he took a sip from his pumpkin juice.

‘Mum asks whether I want to invite you to come to us for Christmas.’

‘Do you want to?

‘Yeah, if you want to come?’ Albus asked hesitantly.

They both contemplated their fight for a moment.

‘Sure. Yes. Definitely,’ Scorpius said.

‘Great.’

 

On Wednesday, Scorpius sat down at his table in the back of the Divination classroom. Right before the bell rang to announce the beginning of the lesson, Rose rushed in and dropped down in the chair next to him. She was a little out of breath.

‘Hi,’ she said happily.

‘Hi,’ Scorpius said.

‘Alright, could I have your attention, please,’ Prof. Damus said from the front of the class. ‘This will be our last session on tarot. To conclude this topic, I would like you to take your cards and do a thorough reading for the person sitting next to you. Take your time and use a spread that you feel comfortable with.’

Scorpius eyed Rose. Did she really want to partner with him on this? Rose glanced back, her dark eyes challenging.

Scorpius began shuffling his cards.

‘Do you want to go first?’ Scorpius asked.

‘No,’ Rose said.

‘Okay. Do you have a question you’d like answered?’

‘Tell me something about my love life,’ Rose said with a grin.

Scorpius blushed. He shuffled his cards another time and then laid out a few cards in front of him. The pictures were familiar. They had been studying the basic meanings in the last three weeks. Some of them had several conflicting meanings, however, and there were many details on them that could be more important in a particular reading. He opened his Divination textbook and studied the cards before him.

There was _the Empress, six of swords,_ reversed, and _the Lovers_. He thought of that time when he and Albus had been rearranging tarot decks. Scorpius had ask him all kinds of stupid questions. Would Polly Chapman fancy him if he was good at Quidditch? It wasn’t like he really wanted Polly Chapman to fancy him. She wasn’t really his type anyway. What he liked about Rose was that she was studious, like him, and that she was frank. Polly Chapman loved stories and gossip above else.

‘Okay,’ he began, unsure. While he liked Divination, it was one of the vaguer disciplines. There was really no right or wrong and that was something he couldn’t quite grasp.

‘So, there is this person you have a relationship with – it’s positive, it’s going great.’

Rose smiled at him. He wasn’t quite sure what the smile was supposed to mean. It looked a bit superior, like he was only telling her what she already knew.

‘And _the Empress_ here – that’s another woman, I think? I don’t know what that means, if she’s a friend or a rival? Anyway, the two of cups here is reversed so that means, uh -’ He looked at his textbook. ‘It means there is going to be a confession of some sort, a marriage proposal even, although it says here that that’s not a common interpretation.’

Rose laughed.

‘A proposal would really surprise me. You haven’t got anything planned, do you?’

‘Me? N-no?’

‘Good.’

 

‘Okay, my turn.’

She shuffled the cards in a pragmatic, casual way and then slapped a few cards in front of her. She studied them carefully and then looked Scorpius straight in the eye.

‘Let’s talk about your love life.’

‘I- I’m not sure that’s a good idea.’

‘I think it’s a _brilliant_ idea. Let’s see.’ She made a thoughtful noise but didn’t look at the cards. ‘You’ve had a crush on girl for a very long time. She is super intelligent and crazily beautiful but unfortunately is not interested in you that way.’

Rose smirked but Scorpius could tell that she wasn’t trying to be mean. ‘You were so focussed on her that you didn’t see anyone else.’

Scorpius face was burning. He checked to see if anyone was listening in on them but thankfully everyone else was preoccupied with their own reading.

‘What the cards are saying is _there are plenty of fish in the sea._ ’

She tapped the _page of cups_ , a young man holding a goblet with a fish in it.

‘That’s you.’ she said, ‘And see the reversed _two of cups_ here? That’s misunderstandings and jealousy – see the combination of _the Temperance_ and _the three of swords_. So, in order to find love, you need to overcome those. And then there’s the _page of wands_. I think that’s the one you should be looking out for.’

‘Uh, thanks,’ Scorpius said.

The bell saved him from saying much more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the tarot bit first and I feel like Rose comes off really differently in these bits but I didn't know how to change it. Idk. Hopefully more exciting things in the next chapter. Shout out to everyone who has made it this far and especially to princesskiwifruit!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heeeeyyy it's been a while!! well, i was working on this chapter and then had a break and the picked it up again after a few days and then it went on like that... i wasn't sure where to go but i wanted to finish it. then yesterday when i was taking a shower i finally had an idea and now i wrote 2/3 of this chapter in one setting. it is rather long (compared to my usual chapters) and a lot is happening. so... enjoy and cue the gay panic!

Albus was on his way to the library. He meant to take the shortcut through the hidden passageway behind the tapestry with the unicorn, this, however, was blocked by two people. Two people kissing. He cleared his throat. They quickly broke apart once they realised they were not alone.

One person was Rose Granger-Weasley. The other person was Felicia Wood.

‘Albus!’ Rose exclaimed, surprised.

‘Hi, Potter,’ Felicia said a little abashed.

Albus was speechless. This was a girl. Rose had been kissing a girl. Rose was still holding hands with a girl. And that girl was Felicia Wood, a _Slytherin_.

‘I’ve got to go,’ Felicia announced. ‘Quidditch.’

‘Yeah,’ Rose replied absent-minded.

Felicia shot Albus a look and then quickly kissed Rose on her cheek.

‘Are you -’

‘Gay?’

‘- dating?’

‘Yes. I’m gay-dating.’

‘So, you’re not into Scorpius?’ Albus asked.

‘Of course not, Albus, I thought we were clear on that one,’ Rose said. ‘It’s not that he’s not great, I’m just a huge lesbian.’ She sighed. ‘You know it felt really good to say that. Les-bi-an.’

‘O-okay,’ Albus answered, unsure what kind of response Rose was expecting.

But Rose seemed to be in a great mood. She merely smiled at him and then checked her watch and turned to leave. She halted in the passageway.

‘Albus?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Please don’t tell anyone about Felicia and me, okay? James would go mental if he knew about us. And Leah Goldstein, too.’

‘I won’t tell anyone,’ Albus reassured her quickly.

‘Okay,’ Rose said. ‘Good. See you around.’

 

He didn’t get much work done this afternoon. He couldn’t focus on the Astronomy text he was supposed to read; his thoughts always returned to Rose and Felicia kissing in the hidden passage. He wasn’t sure how he felt about the whole thing. He was surprised. And he wondered why he was surprised. It wasn’t like he didn’t know that there were witches who liked women and wizards who liked men. Rose and Felicia weren’t the only gay couple he had run into – there had been that one time when he had seen Magnus kissing that ginger boy in the bathroom. And when he was little his parents had often taken him to the gallery of their artist friend in London – he had loved mixing colours together with Dean and was even allowed to paint on one of the big canvases – and he remembered going to his and his boyfriend’s wedding when he was eight. For some reason, he had never thought about the possibility that Rose might be gay. Maybe it was because she was family and he generally didn’t like thinking about his family member’s love life in general. Maybe it was because he had seen Rose through Scorpius eyes. And Scorpius was obviously biased. Albus had always assumed that she liked boys. And, he realised, he had always assumed that she and Scorpius would eventually end up together. It wasn’t even something he looked forward to. He had just thought it was inevitable, for some reason.

 

When Albus returned from the library, Scorpius had already showered and dressed for bed. He was waiting for him on Albus’ bed.

‘How was practice?’ Albus asked, dropping his bag and slipping out of his shoes.

‘Leah was a bit pissed because Felicia was late again,’ Scorpius said.

‘… was she?’ Albus asked, uncomfortably.

_Please don’t tell anyone about Felicia and me._ That included Scorpius. He hadn’t thought this through. He wasn’t sure if he could keep secrets from Scorpius, especially if they related to him.

‘She has been for a few times in a row,’ Scorpius said. ‘- Hey, do you remember when we were in the common room and she sneaked in at night? I wonder what she’s up to…’

‘Yeah, that was weird,’ Albus replied lamely.

‘Hm,’ Scorpius made thoughtfully before shaking his head. ‘Anyway, can you test me on shielding charms before going to bed? I think Prof. Niogelu might have us take a pop quiz tomorrow.’

‘Sure,’ Albus said, relieved that they had changed the subject.

 

He didn’t fall asleep at first. So, he knew that Rose was a lesbian. But Scorpius didn’t and so he might be pining for her until eternity. He felt that it would be fair to let Scorpius know so that he could move on. He also knew that it was not in his place to tell him and that Rose would most likely hex him if he did. Would Scorpius be able to move on if he knew? And would he fall in love with another girl? It was kind of a weird thought. He couldn’t really imagine him with anyone else. Sure, he might meet the women of his dreams later in life, but at the moment there wasn’t really anyone else, right? It had always been just the two of them. Albus and Scorpius, Scorpius and Albus.

And it had gotten to the point where people were assuming that they were together. Which was ridiculous, of course. Even if you ignored Scorpius’ intellectual superiority, there was definitely a divide in appearance. Scorpius was good-looking. Like, _really_ good-looking. It was hard to imagine that someone could _not_ find him attractive. But that was subjective, Albus supposed. He, for example, had never understood it when the other boys had gushed over Polly Chapman. So far, none of the girls in his year had sparked his interest. But that was okay. There was still plenty of time for that.

 

His dreams were a weird melange of images. He dreamed of his OWL examinations, of his siblings fighting over something, and then he found himself back in the dorm, looking for Scorpius. He was not hiding behind the curtains of his bed, so Albus went to check in the bathrooms. The floor was wet beneath his bare feet. He scanned the room and quickly spotted Scorpius – only he wasn’t alone. Beside him stood Magnus and they were both only wrapped up in towels. Scorpius blond hair stuck to his forehead. Magnus stretched out a hand and gently pushed Scorpius’ hair back. His hand lingered on his temple before cupping his cheek and leaning down to kiss him. Scorpius melted into him, eyes closed. Magnus pulled him closer, his strong arm around Scorpius waist. All Albus could do was stand there and watch, transfixed. Scorpius sighed into the kiss, his lips eager, impatient. Magnus moved them towards the big window. Scorpius leaned his head against the glass and Magnus started putting little kisses on Scorpius’ neck and collarbone. Scorpius lifted his head to give him better access. His brows were furrowed, but it was from pleasure. Neither Scorpius nor Magnus seemed to be aware of his presence – but just as he had that thought, Scorpius opened his eyes and looked straight at Albus.

Albus woke up with a start, feeling hot and sweaty.

 

That morning, Albus walked up to breakfast with Scorpius in silence. He couldn’t look at Scorpius without thinking of his dream. It was embarrassing and it was confusing. The subconscious was a peculiar thing. He supposed he had been thinking so much about Rose and Felicia and about Magnus and how Scorpius would react to knowing about Rose and his brain had mixed it all up. But unlike when he had seen Rose and Felicia, he hadn’t been stumped and embarrassed. No, this dream hadn’t been a nightmare. It had been almost pleasant to watch them; they seemed to have fun… Albus shook his head. Magnus and Scorpius were real people. He shouldn’t think about them that way.

He poured himself some cereal and tried to focus on an article on last night’s Quidditch match. The _Cannons_ had won. It really looked like they would make it this season. Uncle Ron was undoubtedly very happy. When he had come to the end of the article, he saw that it had been written by his mum. Had his parents ever had confusing dreams about their best friends? He couldn’t – and most importantly didn’t want to - imagine it.

‘Albus?’ Scorpius asked.

‘What did you dream about?’

‘Wha- what?!’

‘What did you dream about?’ Scorpius repeated. ‘We’re starting with dream interpretation in Divination today.’

He pointed at his Divination textbook that was propped up against a milk jug. Albus let out a breath of relief. For a second he had believed that Scorpius somehow knew what he had dreamed.

‘Er, I don’t remember,’ Albus lied.

‘Yeah, me neither,’ Scorpius said.

 

Before Divination, however, they had Herbology. As they were fighting with the Venomous Tentacula, Albus couldn’t help noticing that Scorpius’ frown was pretty close to the expression he had worn in the dream. It looked good. Heat was rising up Albus’ cheeks. So this was what it was going to be like now? Was he going to think about Scorpius being kissed by a guy whenever he saw him? No, it was worse than that. When Scorpius had left for the North Tower and Albus had taken his usual spot in the Runes classroom, he realised that the absence of Scorpius didn’t hinder him to think about him. While the teacher droned on about practical uses of runes in modern witchcraft, Albus mind supplied him with images that hadn’t even come up in the dream. Instead of Magnus kissing Scorpius, he suddenly pictured himself. It would obviously be different if they kissed – Albus wasn’t as tall as Magnus and definitely not as confident. Imagining kissing Scorpius should have been weird but it wasn’t. Albus didn’t know what it felt like to be kissed but if it was how he imagined it, he sure was looking forward to it. Except that he wouldn’t be kissing Scorpius. They were friends – and Scorpius liked girls – _Do I like girls?_ The question was immediately followed by a second. _Do I like boys?_ Now he definitely couldn’t concentrate on runes any more.

His thoughts were spiralling. There were attractive guys – Magnus for one – the bassist from the Banshees – one of the Ravenclaw prefects – he’d always thought Teddy was quite good-looking – and, well, Scorpius. He’d just never considered it weird to think of them that way. It was just normal. He had assumed that all boys thought that other boys were attractive that way… maybe that wasn’t actually the case. He had thought that being gay felt somehow special, somehow other. The way that people spoke about gay people made it seem like they were different. He didn’t feel different. Well, he felt different, but he felt different because he was a Potter, he felt different because he was a Slytherin, he felt different because that’s what being a teenager meant!

 

_Gay._ He felt the weird urge to spell it out, to write it down to see what it looked like in his handwriting. He wondered whether that was what Rose had meant when she said saying she was a lesbian felt good. Except he wasn’t sure. He wished there was a fool-proof method to find out if he was. Maybe a test. Maybe if he had the chance to kiss a boy he would know. But that wasn’t possible. He couldn’t just walk up to a random boy and ask him. But maybe there were other ways. That week in class, he studied his classmates and made a mental list on who he found attractive. Elias Bast, Aman Tafrouti and Liam Hughes from Hufflepuff. Oliver Patterson and Kieran Wright from Gryffindor. Sajith Thompson from Ravenclaw. All boys.

When he thought about them, though, lying awake in bed that night, there wasn’t one of them that he wanted to kiss. He couldn’t picture it like he could with Scorpius. Scorpius who was sleeping in the bed beside him. Scorpius who had slept in bed beside him. Scorpius who had held his hand when he had had a nightmare.

He thought about the last weeks and about their fight, about his jealousy. God, how jealous he had been. It made all sense somehow. He pulled the blanket over his face.

 

So, maybe he had a crush on Scorpius. Did that change anything? Scorpius still had a crush on Rose. Rose who was a lesbian and would never like him back that way. And now he had a crush on Scorpius who would never like him back that way. It was kind of ironic, wasn’t it? And on top of all of that he had sworn not to tell Scorpius about Rose and Felicia. Although that wouldn’t change things, either. They were friends, always had been. And he wanted keep being his friend. Except now he also thought about holding Scorpius hand again. About hugging him. About kissing him. But Scorpius couldn’t know. He would feel weird about it.

Still, there was a new dimension to hanging out with Scorpius now. He was getting more and more lost in Scorpius’ grey eyes and his smile sent shivers through him. _So this is what it feels like_.

 

‘Are you okay?’ Scorpius asked when they were alone in the dorm. It was a week before the Christmas break started.

‘Yeah,’ Albus said.

Scorpius came to sit beside him on his bed.

‘I’ve got the feeling that there’s something going on in your head.’

Albus stayed silent. Was it that obvious?

‘ _I feel like_ there is something you don’t want to tell me.’

There was a sparkle in Scorpius’ eyes. Albus picked up on the reference.

‘ _I feel_ fine,’ Albus said, gentle but emphatic. ‘Really. I’m okay,’ he tried to reassure Scorpius.

His friend didn’t seem convinced but he seemed to be okay dropping the topic.

‘Just… I’m here to listen.’

‘Thanks.’

 

A few days later, a small parcel arrived for Albus. He didn’t recognise the owl that carried it but he thought that the handwriting looked familiar. There was no note, only his name on the wrapping paper. Albus had not been expecting a parcel so he opened it curiously.

‘What is it?’ Scorpius asked between sips of pumpkin juice.

‘It’s a book,’ Albus said.

It looked quite new – unlike most of the books in Hogwarts it was not bound in leather – but it was most definitely magic. On the cover a rainbow poured from a wand.

‘ _Those Folks from Queerditch March_ , _Or A History of LGBT Witches, Wizards and Wix in Britain_. I didn’t order any books,’ he said puzzled. ‘And what is a wix?’

‘One way to find out,’ Scorpius said, ‘Read it.’

He seemed to be in an extraordinarily good mood.

 

He forgot all about the book until he packed his school bag for the day to come. He placed it under his pillow. After drawing his curtains, he lit his wand and took out the book. His mother’s history with strange books had him act with caution. He checked the front pages for any inscriptions but there were none. He tipped it with his wand but nothing happened. It was a perfectly ordinary book – and hadn’t it been for the moving images on the cover, it could have easily stood in a muggle bookshop. He still felt a bit weary. He hadn’t told anyone about his thoughts. There was no way that anyone would know, right? Or was there a Legilimens in Hogwarts? If so, it was nice that they were sending him books. Still, it was a disconcerting thought. On the other hand, he was curious. He looked at the contents page. There were chapters on history, language and celebrities. Albus was not familiar with most of the names, but one caught his eye: Albus Dumbledore. What was Dumbledore doing in this book?! He skipped the pages until he found the right chapter. A black-and-white photo showed two young men grinning at the camera. Albus recognised the Elder wand in one of their hands. So this was young Dumbledore. He started to read. When he had finished the chapter, he went back for the introduction. He only stopped when he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore. Just before he fell asleep he had an idea. _Rose._ Rose had sent the book.

 

He finished reading it the next day. It was incredible. All those things no-one ever seemed to talk about. He desperately wanted to tell someone about it and he wanted to thank Rose for giving it to him, even if it was a weird gesture. How could she have known? He decided to catch Rose after breakfast. His plan, however, was frustrated.

When Rose arrived in the Great Hall, she was chased by his brother James and both of them were screaming at the top of their lungs.

‘WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE, OH MY GOD!’ Rose yelled.

‘BECAUSE YOUR ON MY TEAM AND THESE ARE THE RULES!’

‘THEN FUCK THE RULES!’

This got the teachers’ attention. Prof. Longbottom got up with a sigh, pushing up his sleeves and gripping his wand tightly. And not for nothing – when Albus looked back to James and Rose, the latter had already drawn her wand.

‘YOU’RE OFF THE TEAM!’

‘FINE!’

‘What’s going on?’ Prof. Longbottom asked calmly.

None of them gave an answer but instead glowered at each other.

‘Okay, let’s get out of here and sort it like reasonable people, shan’t we?’

‘Professor -’

‘ _Now_ , James.’

They both followed him outside, shoulders tense. Albus scanned the house table. Felicia was nowhere to be seen, but neither was Leah.

‘What was that about?’ Scorpius asked.

‘Apparently, she has a secret girlfriend,’ Sam Edgecombe supplied. ‘And she’s on the Slytherin team.’

‘A… a _girlfriend_?’ Scorpius repeated, stunned.

‘A girlfriend,’ Sam repeated gleefully. ‘Guess you don’t have a chance, mate.’

 

Scorpius was quiet that morning. He didn’t put his hand up in History of Magic once, which was a first. When they went down to lunch, however, he seemed to have found his voice again.

‘Who would have thought…’ Scorpius said.

‘Yeah,’ Albus replied.

It must have sounded unconvincing because Scorpius looked at him.

‘You didn’t know about this, didn’t you?’

Albus looked at his lap.

‘I did – but not long. I ran into them kissing. Rose made me not tell anyone!’

Scorpius sighed.

‘Fair enough, I guess.’

‘I’m sorry, Scorpius.’

Scorpius shrugged. Albus wished that there was something he could say to comfort Scorpius but he couldn’t think of anything. They returned to class and then went down to the Slytherin common room. They were surprised with another scene of drama. Felicia was sitting on a sofa in front of the fireplace, crying. Magnus had put an arm around her shoulders and he was whispering words of comfort to her.

‘Scorpius,’ he said when he saw them enter.

They came closer. Scorpius crouched down in front of them.

‘Felicia?’ he asked.

‘She took me off the team. Leah, I mean,’ she said with a sob.

Magnus rubbed her back, soothingly.

‘I told Leah she can stick it,’ he said. ‘If she throws out Felicia, I’m leaving, too.’

He looked expectantly at Scorpius. Scorpius seemed to think about this for a moment. He got up, straightened his back and then said sternly: ‘Me too.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there will be one more chapter (and maybe some sort of epilogue). are you ready?? if yes give me a shout out so i get my ass up and write it up soon. i hope you liked it.


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